Freelancing: the good, the bad and the ugly
Inspired and depressed in equal measures?
That’s pretty much how I felt when I read the results of a survey I carried out in 2021, looking at the situations and attitudes of 122 independent ELT professionals, including self-employed teachers, trainers, writers, editors, school owners and consultants.
Reading about why people loved their work was inspiring. But some of the responses about money and working conditions were rather less cheerful.
And I think there’s still plenty we can learn from what people told me.
The good: freedom, flexibility and autonomy
Flexibility was the most common reason people gave for loving their work, which you’d probably expect. And which, let’s face it, can be a double-edged sword.
But the second most common response revolved around freedom, choice and autonomy.
And I think that’s particularly interesting.
The importance of autonomy
A sense of autonomy is a huge factor in how we experience stress, and I think it’s often overlooked.
Research has consistently linked having some control over our work with better wellbeing. When we’re employed, that might mean not being micromanaged to within an inch of our lives. But when we’re self-employed, it means having some choice about who we work with, what kind of work we take on, when we work and how we organise our days.
At least, that’s the theory.
In my experience, however, especially when newly self-employed, many independent ELT professionals don’t fully take advantage of this freedom.
They continue to work as if someone is watching them. They feel guilty if they take a break to sit in the garden or go for a walk, even though they’re likely to work more productively when they come back.
Or they find themselves agreeing to work at times that don’t really suit them, taking on clients they’d rather not work with, and saying yes to projects they don’t particularly want.
Which rather defeats the point of being your own boss, doesn’t it?
One of the great advantages of freelancing is that you get to make those decisions yourself. But you do have to give yourself permission to actually do so.
Other positive aspects of freelancing
Other things people loved about being self-employed included variety, being able to follow their passions and interests more closely, helping people, learning new things and…
Avoiding office politics.
I can certainly understand that one!
Toxic working environments can be enormously stressful. And while you’re not necessarily immune to difficult people or uncomfortable working relationships as a freelancer, there’s a huge benefit to being one step removed.
You can finish the project, move on to the next client and, ideally, choose not to work with that person again.
Of course, that freedom is rather easier to exercise when you’re not desperately worried about where the next bit of income is coming from.
Which brings us to the bad part.
The bad: not earning enough
A handful of people in the survey said that they were making more money as freelancers.
But the vast majority were either reasonably satisfied with what they earned (which didn’t sound particularly enthusiastic!) or actively dissatisfied.
And I found that quite depressing.
Is this just the lot of the freelancer? Do we have to trade freedom for less money?
Well, perhaps, if part of that freedom involves deliberately working fewer hours or taking longer holidays.
But there’s no inherent reason why working for yourself should mean earning less. In fact, through my work with clients, I’ve repeatedly seen opportunities for freelance language professionals to earn considerably more than they currently do.
So why aren’t more people doing so?
Of course, there are genuine problems with the rates offered in parts of the ELT industry. Some organisations seem determined to pay freelancers as little as they possibly can, and some of the fees offered are frankly abysmal.
There are no excuses for that.
And we can’t pretend that every freelancer has complete freedom to set their own rates or turn down badly paid work. Financial circumstances, location, the kinds of clients available and the wider market all play a part.
But I also think we sometimes make things considerably harder for ourselves.
And that’s where things start to get a bit ugly.
The ugly: when we become our own worst boss
Some of the comments in the survey suggested that freelancers were underselling themselves and failing to treat themselves in the way they’d probably automatically treat anyone else they employed.
Here are three responses that particularly struck me:
“I still find myself taking on work and offering ridiculous rates (too low). I tend to try and make an assessment on what I think they can afford? This is particularly when dealing with private clients.”
“Impossible to ask existing students to pay more because we only agree to begin but hardly ever when the lessons will end.”
“I am happy with my hourly rate but sometimes it feels like the hours spent at my screen do not equate with the hours I invoice.”
Sound familiar?
In the first example, the freelancer is effectively deciding on the client’s behalf how much they can afford, rather than charging a rate that reflects the value of the service they’re providing.
In the second, the problem is partly about setting expectations and being willing to have an uncomfortable conversation about increasing prices.
And in the third, there’s a familiar issue with hourly rates. The time spent actually delivering the service is only part of the work involved. Preparation, admin, communication and feedback all take time too, whether or not you’re charging for them.
Of course, knowing all of this doesn’t necessarily make it easy to change.
Money brings up all sorts of uncomfortable feelings, particularly in a profession where we’ve often been encouraged to put helping people ahead of earning a decent living.
But if you continually undercharge, overdeliver and agree to work under conditions that don’t really suit you, you’re essentially creating a working environment that you probably wouldn’t accept from an employer.
As one client memorably said to me:
“I realised I was the worst boss (to myself) that I’d ever had.”
Ouch.
But I think there’s a lot of truth in that.
We go into freelancing because we want more control over our working lives, and then sometimes end up creating a business where the boss (that’s us!) expects us to work ridiculous hours, never take a proper break and feel guilty whenever we’re not being productive.
And unlike an employed job, there isn’t necessarily anyone else who’s going to step in and tell us that enough is enough.
‘Pricing well is deep self-care’
I love this quote from money coach Ray Dodds.
We often think of self-care in terms of eating well, getting outside, taking breaks, doing some exercise or having a nice bubble bath.
And, of course, all of those things can be important.
But even more fundamental, I think, is whether we’re willing to take the steps needed to make sure we’re earning enough.
This isn’t about being materialistic. In fact, there’s nothing wrong with buying material things in my opinion. My business allowed me to buy an expensive but SUPER comfortable new bed, and it was worth every penny!
But ultimately, it isn’t the things you buy that matter, or even the money itself. It’s what that money allows you to do.
Earning enough means not constantly worrying about how you’re going to pay your bills. It means being able to take time off when you need it, rather than feeling you have to accept every available hour of work.
It might mean being able to work fewer evenings, spend more time with your family, get outside for some exercise or simply stop sitting in front of your computer for so long that your back aches and your eyes hurt.
It can also mean having enough financial breathing space to turn down work that isn’t right for you.
And that brings us right back to autonomy.
Because how much freedom do you really have if you feel you can’t afford to say no to anything?
Making freelancing work for you
Looking back at the survey, what strikes me most is the tension between the things people loved about freelancing and the things that were making them unhappy.
They valued freedom, flexibility and the ability to choose how they worked. But many were also struggling to earn enough, finding it difficult to set boundaries or working considerably more hours than they were actually being paid for.
And I don’t think those things are entirely separate.
If your business isn’t financially sustainable, it becomes much harder to enjoy the flexibility and autonomy that attracted you to freelancing in the first place.
That’s why I think it’s so important to look beyond simply finding more clients or filling more hours in your diary.
Perhaps you need to raise your rates, or be clearer about what’s included in your services. Maybe you need to rethink the way you package your expertise, or focus on clients who place a higher value on the results you help them achieve.
Or perhaps you need to get more comfortable with saying no, rather than continually taking on work that leaves you exhausted and resentful.
None of those changes is necessarily easy, and they won’t solve every problem in the freelance market.
But they may give you more control over the business you’re building.
Because surely the point of becoming self-employed is to create a working life that suits you, rather than recreating all the things you wanted to escape from in the first place?
And, for me, earning enough is a pretty fundamental part of that.
Want to earn more from your freelance business?
If you’re struggling to charge enough, find yourself working more hours than you’re actually paid for, or feel uncomfortable talking about money with clients, I’ve brought together some practical resources to help.
In my Earn more from the work I do Resource Centre, you’ll find articles, videos and tools to help you rethink your pricing, feel more confident about the value of your expertise, and build a more profitable freelance language business.